Various electrical devices and computing systems, such as network routers, utilize printed circuit boards or other removable modules. Printed circuit boards generally have one or more connecters that couple with a socket or receptacle. The connectors often include a plurality of discrete elements, such as pins or tabs. Similarly, the socket or receptacle will include a corresponding number of recesses to receive each of the pins or tabs.
Properly inserting a printed circuit board into an electrical device can often be a tedious and difficult task. Each individual pin or tab, for example, requires a certain amount of force to properly seat the printed circuit board into the socket. The total force required to seat the printed circuit board or other module includes the cumulative sum of the forces required to seat each individual pin or tab. Thus, as the number of pins or tabs increase, the force required to seat the printed circuit board likewise increases.
Furthermore, in order to assure a proper connection and to minimize any chance of damage, force should be evenly applied to the printed circuit board. That is, the uneven application of force along the printed circuit board may cause the circuit board to twist or otherwise deform and become only partially connected. Similarly, the extraction of printed circuit boards or other devices from such systems often requires a relatively large amount of force, typically about 75–80% of the force required for insertion, that must also be evenly applied across the printed circuit board.
The uniform application of force to a circuit board becomes more difficult as the amount of overall force required to properly seat the circuit board increases. To assist in the insertion and retraction of circuit boards and other devices, some systems provide various mechanical aids. Conventional mechanical aids include, for example, incorporating one or more levers, or one or more threaded members, such as alignment screws. The threaded members typically attach to the circuit board and align with a threaded connector coupled with the system.
The alignment of a threaded member with a threaded connector, however, can itself be tedious and difficult. Many conventional systems make use of multiple screws that must turn in relative synchronicity in order to apply uniform force. Hence, two (or more) tools, such as screwdrivers, must be used simultaneously, or each individual threaded member must be actuated on an alternating basis in relatively small increments. Additionally problems associated with these mechanical aids are the practical limits of the amount of force they can apply, the difficulty in manipulating these aides, the difficulty in aligning the aides, placing relatively large aides in small spaces, and properly shielding the system to prevent electromagnetic interference (EMI). The same mechanical aids are often used for both insertion and extraction and may have the same problems and drawbacks in either case.